Emily

(Paperback)

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Description

From Michael Bedard and two-time Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator Barbara Cooney comes a storyabout American poet Emily Dickinson and the young girl who befriends her.

What if your neighbor were the reclusive poet Emily Dickinson And what if one day she sent a letter inviting your mother to pay her a visit A little girl who lives across the street from the mysterious Emily gets a chance to meet the poet when her mother goes to play the piano for her. There, the girl sneaks a gift up to Emily, who listens from the landing, and in return, Emily gives the girl a precious gift of her ownthe gift of poetry.

This fictionalized encounter . . . is, like a Dickinson sonnet, a quiet gem: unassuming upon first glance, it is in fact deeply lustrous, with new facets becoming apparent the longer one looks..Publishers Weekly

In this imaginative and unusual picture book . . . the language of the text is lyrical . . . The illustrations convey a sense of place and time long ago, from drawing rooms to clothing. This is a picture book to read aloud and share[Readers] will find that Bedard's charming story demystifies the person and offers some understanding of her odd behavior.School Library Journal

"Two time Caldecott award winning illustrator Barbara Cooney's richly detailed oil paintings enhance the moving story of Dickinson's extraordinary private life.Childrens Literature

Reviews

This fictionalized encounter . . . is, like a Dickinson sonnet, a quiet gem: unassuming upon first glance, it is in fact deeply lustrous, with new facets becoming apparent the longer one looks..Publishers Weekly

In this imaginative and unusual picture book . . . the language of the text is lyrical . . . The illustrations convey a sense of place and time long ago, from drawing rooms to clothing. This is a picture book to read aloud and share[Readers] will find that Bedard's charming story demystifies the person and offers some understanding of her odd behavior.School Library Journal

"Two time Caldecott award winning illustrator Barbara Cooney's richly detailed oil paintings enhance the moving story of Dickinson's extraordinary private life.Childrens Literature

Author Bio

Michael Bedardwas born and raised in Toronto, where he still lives. His novels includeStained Glass,A Darker Magic,Painted Devil, andRedwork, which received the Governor Generals Literary Award and the Canadian Library Associations Book of the Year Award for Children. He has also written several acclaimed picture books, includingThe Clay Ladies, which received the Toronto IODE Book Award, and Emily, a story about Emily Dickinson, illustrated by Barbara Cooney.

Barbara Cooneytraveled the world, lived in a house by the sea in Maine, and made the world more beautifulthrough her art. She was a two-time Caldecott Medal winner, for Chanticleer and the Fox in 1959and Ox-Cart Man in 1980. Her beloved bookMiss Rumphiuswas the winner of the American Book Awardin 1982. Barbara Cooney died in 2000 at the age of eighty-two.